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Image-taking apparatus

a technology of image-taking apparatus and light source, which is applied in the direction of shutters, instruments, and exposure control, etc., can solve the problems of increasing the number of shootings, the amount of light emitted at one shooting gradually decreases, and the amount of light emitted at each shooting time during continuous shooting gradually decreases, so as to achieve control of the shooting interval and higher precision

Inactive Publication Date: 2010-04-20
FUJIFILM CORP
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides an image-taking apparatus that can keep the brightness of images shot later equal to the brightness of images shot earlier during continuous shooting without increasing the number of LEDs. This is achieved by increasing the amplification factor of image signals generated by the imaging device per shooting, up to a level that compensates for a gradual decrease in the amount of emitted light that occurs due to an increase in temperature of the LED. The apparatus includes a light-emitting section that causes the LED to emit fill light towards a subject, a light-emission driving section that drives the LED in synchronism with a shooting requiring fill light, and a signal-amplifying section that amplifies the image signals generated by the imaging device per shooting. The exposure time may be adjusted to ensure that the amount of light supplied to the imaging device becomes sufficient, and an exposure section may be added to adjust exposure time. The apparatus can also include a shooting control section that extends a shooting interval between shots to prevent a decrease in the amount of emitted light that occurs due to an increase in temperature of the LED.

Problems solved by technology

However, LEDs have such a problem that the amount of light emitted from an LED gradually decreases with the passage of light-emission time.
When light emission of an LED having such a tendency is used for continuous shooting or multiple exposures, there arises not only a problem that the amount of light emitted at one shooting gradually decreases over the time as shown in FIG. 1, but also another problem that the amount of light emitted at each shooting time during continuous shooting gradually decreases as the number of shot images increases as shown in FIG. 2.
When the amount of emitted light gradually decreases in this way, a shortfall in the amount of light supplied to an imaging device becomes greater as the number of shot images increases.
However, incorporation of multiple LEDs in an image-taking apparatus increases the size of the image-taking apparatus.

Method used

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Embodiment Construction

[0069]Embodiment(s) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0070]FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are external views of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0071]FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate the front and the back of the digital camera 1, respectively.

[0072]As shown in FIG. 3(a), the digital camera 1 has a lens barrel 100 on its front face. The barrel 100 has a built-in shooting lens group 1021. In addition, a light-emission window 102 is disposed above the lens barrel 100, and a finder 101 is disposed next to the light-emission window 102. Fill light is emitted through the light-emission window 102 toward a subject, when a system control circuit that will be described later determines that emission of fill light is necessary. Further, a release button 104 is disposed on the top face of the body of the digital camera 1.

[0073]As shown in FIG. 3(b), a display screen 1501 is disposed on the back face of the digital camera 1. Above the ...

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Abstract

An image-taking apparatus includes: an A / D conversion circuit having an amplifier that is capable of amplifying image signals per shooting frame; and a gain changer that changes the gain of the amplifier. The apparatus causes the gain changer to increase the gain of the amplifier up to a level that compensates for a gradual decrease in the amount of light emitted from LEDs that occurs during continuous shooting. As a result, the amplitude level of every image signal is made constant and thus, replayed images of the same brightness shot during the continuous shooting are obtained.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to an image-taking apparatus that includes an imaging device and an image-taking optical system, and generates image signals representing a subject image formed on the imaging device through the image-taking optical system.[0003]2. Description of the Related Art[0004]There have been proposed techniques for employing a light-emitting diode (LED) as a light source in place of a xenon tube (see Japanese Patent Application Publications No. 2005-128413 and No. 2005-134711 for example). Use of the LED eliminates the constraints of the time for recharging a main capacitor and thus, it is possible to emit shooting fill light at any desired time.[0005]Generally, when subject luminance is insufficient in multiple exposures or continuous shooting, fill light is emitted in a pulse at every shooting time so that subject luminance for each shooting is secured. If an LED is used in this type of shooting, ...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Patents(United States)
IPC IPC(8): G03B15/03H04N23/75
CPCG03B15/03
Inventor TOKIWA, KENTAROAWAZU, KOUHEI
Owner FUJIFILM CORP
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